Re: st: -spmap- reason for no aspect() option?

Dear Dan,
the reason why option -aspect()- is preset in -spmap- is exactly that
outlined by Sergiy. However, as Scott has correctly pointed out, by
specifying option -freestyle- (introduced in the latest version of
-spmap) you can gain control over most of the -graph twoway- options.
Quoting from the -spmap- help file:

freestyle requests that, when drawing the graph, all the formatting
presets and restrictions built in spmap be
ignored. By default, spmap presets the values of some graph
options and restricts the use of some others,
so as to produce a "nice" graph automatically. By specifying
option freestyle, the user loses this feature but
gains full control over most of the graph formatting options.

Best wishes,
Maurizio

At 03.58 27/08/2008, you wrote:

Hello Dan,
1. Correct me if I am wrong, but the most probable reason that
aspect() option is not implemented is the following:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection
E.g. Americans commonly use Mercator, while Russians prefer Albers
projection. The difference can be very large and depends on the
distance from the equator. The transformation between most (all?)
projection pairs is non-linear and can't be implemented as
stretching/squeezing maps. -spmap- (and -tmap-) were developed for GIS
graphs in Stata.